3-Step Wellness: Issue, Solution, Results

We love it when people who attend our workshops are inspired to take quick and decisive action.  

Here's one recent example of how easy it can be to highlight areas that would benefit from improvement, establish specifically what action to take for quick results and then just get on with it.  

Everyone could benefit from following the strategy employed by this participant.  Here's their feedback.

'I would like to thank you for the tips you gave during the wellness session.  The actions that I took away and have found solutions for are as follows:

Issue 1: Due to the nature my of role I have to manage a considerable amount of travel which can impact on my level of exercise and the type of food available

Solutions:

1) Take trainers away with me so I can fit in a walk around meetings

2) Inform meeting organisers of dietary needs even if there has been no request for dietary needs. Take, where possible, own fruit and healthy options in luggage.

Issue 2: Level of workload due to travel and maintaining a day job can impact on the level of sleep i.e. using sleep time, particularly when travelling to catch up with emails etc

Solutions:

1) Plan, when less busy, work schedule to accommodate these requirements

2) Ensure there is a clear cut off time so sleeping hours are not reduced

3) Clearly communicate what is and what is not achievable to stakeholders 

Many thanks'

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The Complete Guide to Healthy Business Travel

Emerging from a busy period of travel coordinating wellness programmes in the UK and around the world, I'm reminded of the challenges of business travel but also the opportunities it can bring.

My usual routines have been difficult to maintain in the face of travel in cars, trains and planes and lots of hotel living. 

On the other hand, I've had the opportunity to sample the cuisine of many locations, discover new cities by running around them, swim in outdoor pools and the ocean (a notion that seems a million miles away today - as I write it's freezing and stormy in London) and catch up on reading for work and pleasure between cities.

I was also reminded of our Healthy Business Traveler series of blogs earlier in the year and thought it would be useful to revisit the series given that the lead up to Christmas and the beginning of a New Year can be a very busy traveling time for many.

The series includes one of our most popular blog entries ever covering healthy hotel eating.  The full series was:

How to ensure a great night's sleep while traveling

How to have your most productive day at work AND fit in some exercise

Healthy hotel eating

How to eat well on a plane

Fitness tips for business travellers

A varied diet helps you sleep better

Hopefully you'll find some tips that will help you manage your energy during even the most intense period of travel so you can get the most out of your trip and return home feeling in great shape.

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Fitness tips for business travellers

Next up in our 'Healthy Living for Traveling Executives' series: Exercise.  Here are the top tips to keep your fitness levels up and maximise your energy during business trips.

The key point is to plan your approach to exercise well in advance of your trip.  Every day of travel should have a basic amount of activity and the easiest way to achieve this is with walking.  This can be functional walking as part of your schedule of meetings, casual walking, perhaps to see the local area, or even walking on a treadmill at the hotel gym. You can use a pedometer or smartphone App to help you clock up your daily steps. 

For every two days you are away you should aim for one workout that raises your heart rate higher than your regular walking speed.  You can use the hotel gym or swimming pool or you can put together a short workout in your hotel room or you can exercise in a local park providing the environment is safe.  

Whatever exercise or activity you have access to, focus your attention on a short workout during which you push yourself.  There are four reasons for this:

1) Exercising at a higher intensity will save you time.  

2) Planning a shorter workout will mean you are more likely to follow through on your plan.  Getting a workout started is often the toughest bit and, even though you plan for a short workout, once you've begun chances are you'll keep going for longer.  

3) Exercising at a higher intensity requires you to engage your brain more than low level activity.  This can help clear your head of the 'busyness' of a challenging trip and help you manage stress levels.  

4) Exercising hard will tire you out and can enhance the quantity or quality of your sleep helping you to minimise any possible effects of jet-lag.  

Planning your activity in advance will set your expectations of the trip and enhance your chances of staying in good shape while you're away.  At a basic level it will also ensure that you take the appropriate kit with you and won't be able to use this as an excuse not to get active!

Order your copy of “Successful Corporate Wellbeing Programmes: How to create a dynamic, energised and engaged workforce and boost business results” from our website today.

Image by Flickr: tudydamian

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